what are your memories of disco?
I myself could not afford to go to discos, but I know that this movie was a big hit in my Puerto Rico. A TV variety show sponsored a competition of child John Travoltas and Karen Lynn Gorneys, and they were really good, especially when you consider that they were too young to have watched the movie.
God is subtle, but He is not malicious. (Albert Einstein)
I was 14 in 1977, so the closest I got to the disco scene was watching American Bandstand and Soul Train. I had a pair of blue satin pants, though. ๎น
I didn't even see Saturday Night Fever for a few years, until the edited TV version and watched the full movie many years after that. It makes me chuckle, actually, looking at the tacky clothes and remembering how beautiful I thought they all were back in the day.
My own personal fantasy club outfit would have been a sequined tube top with gold satin pants. Good thing I wasn't old enough! Would have made for some blackmail photos.
I loved the music and was shocked when the anti-disco movement began. Couldn't imagine why anyone would hate something as awesome as disco. In my defense, I was very young.
Still love all that music, though.
I was 13 when the movie came out in Dec of 77. Star Wars and Smokey and the Bandit were the big movies of the year already.
SNF ushered in a HUGE disco influence here in Rochester, NY. Many clubs opened as well as teen disco clubs.
Paul Pape (Double J) actually grew up not far from me.
The clubs and disco in general lasted till the mid 80s, but what a ride it was!
I was only a year old. Would have paid real money to see you in either. and I am a pretty good disco dancer. Mainly because I wanted to be John Travolta. Lol
I have realized you can't make a difference. You must accept your fate
Haha i was 18 in 1977 and i had blue satin pants, i just about lived in the discos and my friends and i went and saw SNF at the movies every Wednesday night, saw it dozens of times we loved John Travolta and i still do.
sharemytravelbug1, if I'd been the same age & lived in your area, I think we would have been friends and coordinated our outfits. ๎น
shareHaha i was 18 in 1977 and i had blue satin pants, i just about lived in the discos and my friends and i went and saw SNF at the movies every Wednesday night, saw it dozens of times we loved John Travolta and i still do.
I was only four in '77, but I remember disco. But for me, disco was just the world I came into. In 1977 as far as I knew, the world had, had mirrored disco balls for thousands of years. I remember my parents had the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack record album, and I loved to listen to it.
shareI was 15 when the movie came out and I coned my mom into taking me to see it. It was OK but when the swearing and sexual talk kicked in she wanted to leave but I refused to go so we sat through it all. All I knew about disco was what I saw on TV and the movie pretty much captured it. I thought the characters were a homophobic and sexist bunch of idiots but this was 1977.
shareI lived near Chicago towards the end of the 70s, there were radio stations with all disco music formats. Various discos advertised on those stations.
I remember some Friday and Saturday nights meeting up with friends and we would go to 2 or 3 places in one night. If one place seemed 'dead' or the music wasn't right that night, we'd just go to the next place.
Some had cover charges, some had better drinks.
I remember when Donna Summers I Feel Love was played for the first time. The place literally froze because the synthesizer work on the song was so different and compelling.
Years before I recall a DJ announcing Prince's first big hit, I Wanna Be Your Lover, and he stunned the crowd when he said Prine wrote the song, the music, performed the vocals, and most of the instruments.
One disco I recall would pass out play lists with the artists noted so if we wanted later we could go to the record store and buy the album if we wanted.
No internet back then, if you heard a good song and wanted the record, it could be difficult to find out the exact name and artist to look for.
I was eight -- eight -- when I saw SNF in the theater! Owing to overly permissive parents and overly permissive ticket sellers, I got to go see it with my older sisters. No harm. I didn't understand most of it. Anyway, I'd heard all those words and seen boobs in magazines before.
One of my sisters was so taken with SNF she bought as many disco records as she could, and did her best in our podunk town to imitate the styles and the mannerisms. My other sister was a hard-rocking hippie chick with a "BURN DOWN THE DISCO" sticker on her stereo set!
I didn't see the entire R-rated version again until I was all growed up. I still watch it now and again. Great movie!
I was 4 like you, michaelward15, and I had the same impressions you did. I remembered alot of the tunes back then on 8tracks and radio that my parents played in their cars growing up but got bored with that music the older I got until I started collecting a ton of music from the era on itunes in the last ten years.
As far as the movie I would see bits and pieces of it on TV over the years but never really watched it all the way through until I picked up a used copy of the dvd and watched it. I thought it was a pretty good time capsule of the period. I also liked the VH1 documentary behind the scenes too.
I was 20 years old in 1997. Well, not specifically 20, but 19 but I would be 20 soon. Or the exact same age as Tony.
Disco sucked as far as I was concerned. I hated the monotonous music, I hated the stupid robotic group hustle dances, I hated the fake disco scene. I was happy when it died.
Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.
You didn't really live in the 70's, idiot.
Disco was a lot better than doped up hippie music such as Pink Floyd.
"How can you tell your wife, with a full heart, you love her and forget to wash ya ass?"
- Redd Foxx
I was very alive in the 70s, I just wasn't a Disco Zombie.
Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.
I was a kid in the 70's, but I have excellent memories of disco and the premier of SNF on ABC. My friends talked about it all week.
I also remember dancing to disco in 4th grade P.E. class.
"How can you tell your wife, with a full heart, you love her and forget to wash ya ass?"
- Redd Foxx
I was in third grade and I recall all of us dancing "the bump". Thought it was really cool at the time. What did I know. I was all of 8 years old.
shareI went to discos all of the time. It was the thing to do. In Texas, where I lived for a couple of years, some discos alternated between disco and country!
shareI was also four like some of the posters here, yet I remember disco so well. It was EVERYWHERE. If you weren't hearing disco on the radio nonstop, it was Barry White. "Shake Shake Shake" was my favorite song and I would sing it all the time like a crazy person. One thing I especially remember was how huge the disco Star Wars medley was. It was like it was played 24/7.
My fondest memory of this era was when my father would take me on a visit to a friend's house. In the 70s, it seemed as if every single person in the world had a disco ball hanging from their ceiling. I remember sitting in the living room of my father's best friend's living room staring up at this ball while he was blasting "Last Dance." ๎ฆ
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Disco music had its fans, but many people despised it. In fact it was so hated that it caused a riot during a 1979 baseball match when fans stormed the field after a local DJ blew up a box of disco records in between a scheduled double header. The second game was called off due to the damage to the field caused by the fans setting a fire in center field to burn disco records in protest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpQfCcsqQ0E
I was in my teens in high school when disco was big. There were many cliques and mine was the stoners. Our music was mainly (what is now considered) classic rock - plus some alternative.
Disco music was scorned in the nastiest possible terms, and the idea of actually going to a disco was beyond absurd. Watching this movie was out of the question.
In fact I am now 52 and have just watched it for the first time. It's good. 7.4 out of 10.
I was in college in 1977 when I first saw the film. Went to a few discos but few were like the film. Oh, and for the guy who grew up in the 80's instead of the 70's, the 80's was slightly better. I grew up during both.
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